Representatives of major beef farming organisations from Italy, France, Spain and the IFA met in Paris this week to consider the current weakness of the EU beef and livestock sectors. They highlighted current income difficulties, with specialised beef farmer incomes typically in the €10,000 to €15,000 range, which is well below the minimum wage in Ireland.

They fear the situation will get worse later in the year, according to an IFA delegation led by livestock chair Angus Woods, along with livestock director Kevin Kinsella and Liam McHale from the Brussels office. The main areas of focus were prices, markets, trade deals and the CAP.

The group identified a series of action points for the Commission to alleviate the situation, including promotion funds, market access to a range of non-EU countries, protection for the EU beef sector in trade discussions, the critical importance of direct CAP payments and possibly a mid-term review with the budget protected.

They also want the introduction of a beef market price observatory, including producer, wholesale and retail prices as well as other key indices on issues such as costs across all of the main beef-producing member states.

This would produce an EU-wide picture for each link in the chain that would enhance forecasting and understanding of the supply and market situation in the beef industry.